Immunization and child health materials development guide pdf

c. Interactive Products. Interactive products are the most complex and sophisticated of
the three types. However, unlike the other types of computer-based media, interactive
products make use of the unique power of the computer: the ability to process logical
functions. Because they usually require someone who can write computer programs,
they can be expensive to create.
What Interactive Really Means. The term “interactive” is often used inappropriately
among product developers. Some developers call their software interactive just because
it has buttons you can click to go from one screen to another—a process known as
navigation—or links to play audio or video clips. But these simple actions can be found
in distribution and multimedia products as well. At PATH, we define an interactive product
as “one that solicits meaningful user input, such as answers to questions about who the
user is or what he or she wants; the interactive software then uses logical algorithms,
programmed by the developer, to respond to this input in a meaningful way.” Figure 24
is an example of this.
Why Interactive Products Are More Difficult to Produce. Creation of the logical algorithms
needed for interactive computer media is challenging, requiring knowledge of health
issues, such as the factors that increase risk of exposure to HIV, as well as the ability to
create computer programs or scripts. Furthermore, the software needed for
development of sophisticated interactive CM is often expensive and difficult to learn. 31
Figure 24. Example of Logical Algorithms at Work in Interactive Media
Illustration A
Illustration B
Based on user answers to questions about
their sexual, and other, behaviors, PATH’s
“RiskAdvisor” software used complicated
logical algorithms to generate a personalized
“risk meter.” The interactive CM helped users
better understand their risk of exposure to HIV
and how they could reduce that risk.
Illustration C
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